Melting Broken Glass
by Jocasta Silver
Summary: When Bethany Hawke started a support group for former Templars and ex blood mages with the help of the Inquisition, even she did not expect what would transpire as a result.


Author's Note: After much waiting and writer's block here's the third part of the Fractured Glass series.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Dragon Age_ , which is owned by Bioware and EA. I only own any OCs.

Melting Broken Glass

" _Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."_ -Maya Angelou

Everyone Bethany Hawke consulted on her potential project called her naïve at best, and crazy at worst. Her sister, Varric, even her own girlfriend Merrill believed that her plan was doomed to failure. Yet, she was determined that her rehabilitation/team building between templars who wanted to wean themselves off lyrium and blood mages who wanted to cease practicing dark rituals and self-mutilation. After all, she managed to explain to Mother that yes, she (Bethany Hawke) was bisexual and attracted to multiple genders. Surprisingly, Father greeted the news of her sexual orientation with a shrug.

So, Bethany arrived at a remote location half a day's journey from Skyhold. There were several abandoned cottages clustered around a small lake. Whether the inhabitants fled during the war or were killed, Bethany didn't know, and hadn't found the courage to inquire on the matter.

Cullen was present along with several inquisition soldiers. He'd insisted on joining on the project even though she was no longer one of his charges, and hadn't been since the Kirkwall Circle was annulled. Or perhaps he hoped that his triumph over his own addiction to lyrium would convince others that it was possible. Merrill was present, along with an auburn-haired woman, and two templar soldiers who served with the Inquisition. The three templars eyed Merrill and the other woman wearily as if they expected the pair to spontaneously become abominations. Cullen gave her nod and turned to chat one of the soldiers, a dark skinned Rivaini who was an old acquaintance of Isabela's.

Surprisingly, the auburn-haired woman stood and greeted her warmly. "Hi, I'm Evelyn Trevelyan, but my friends call me Evie."

Bethany smiled and shook hands, ignoring the long sleeves that no doubt covered many scars. Even though she and Merrill had been together for years, she'd never gotten over her girlfriend cutting herself for power. Hopefully, this excursion would allow Merrill to overcome her dependence on blood magic.

The two templar soldiers introduced themselves as James and Mark respectively, and were as different as night and day. James' hair was a white-blond and his eyes were an emerald green, where Mark's hair was black as ebony, and his eyes were a chocolate brown. However, they both shared a weariness of both Merrill and Evelyn. Bethany inwardly sighed to herself. The next few months were going to be awkward if the two groups tip toed around each other.

Bethany stood and began the speech she'd rehearsed both in front of a mirror and with her girlfriend Merrill, who was willing to critique it. "I'm pleased that you've all come to participate in this team-building program in order to overcome your dependence on your addiction. My hope is that you will discover that you have more in common with the people you see around than differences. However, I would also like to make it clear that neither I nor the Commander will tolerate any mistreatment of your fellow students, and to be willing give them all the benefit of the doubt. We all have done things in the past that we aren't proud of. With that, I wish you all the best of luck and Andraste's blessings."

Noting that both of the templars glared at her, and Evelyn looked skeptical, Bethany sighed. This was going to be a long three months.

…

As Cullen observed the team building exercises, he admitted that Bethany's idea had merit. When the young mage first broached the topic Inquisitor Cadash, he'd barely restrained the urge to object, because a small part of him realized that it was an unfair double-standard to automatically condemn all blood mages, while forgiving templars who'd committed far worse transgressions.

Today's team building exercise was fairly straightforward. The two teams, each with a blood mage and a templar would need to scale over a wooden wall constructed by himself and the other Inquisition soldiers. The trick was not to fall back on their old ways of doing things, as well as working together cohesively as a team. Cullen observed that in spite of his fears, James was making a good effort to assist Merrill, and having him boost her up via the templars hands almost resulted in her clearing the wall and landing safely on the wooden platform attached to the other side.

"I didn't hurt your hands, did I?" Merrill fretted.

James shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I've been hurt with far worse."

Bethany was hovering over the pair like a hawk, but Cullen didn't think she had to worry. James' interactions with Merrill were more sibling-like than romantic. Unfortunately, Mark and Evelyn seemed to be having more issues. They weren't anywhere near to scaling the wall, and Mark was rapidly losing his patience.

"Can't you do anything right?!" he yelled at her.

Evelyn crouched back as though she was going to attack Mark, and Cullen decided to step in. "Both of you stop!"

"Why do I have to work with _her_?" Mark jabbed a finger at Evelyn, who bowed her head as though she was waiting to be reprimanded.

"Because that is the point of this program," Cullen said. "If you want to leave, you may do so."

Mark looked as though he was considering it, but the man finally deflated when he noticed the disapproving look James bestowed on him.

Cullen gently turned to the Evelyn. "Here, let me assist you," he said.

"I have an idea, but Mark wasn't too keen on it."

When she whispered the idea into Cullen's ear, he could understand why, but he nodded in agreement. In spite of his old prejudices, he found himself instinctively trusting Evelyn. Like James and Merrill, they had her step onto his hands to give her a boost. However, Evelyn then jumped and gripped the top of the wall, before managing to pull her legs over. Then she reached over, and Cullen made a running jump, and vines that sprang from the top the wall gripped him and assisted in pulling him far enough up to clamber over the wall himself. Having magic be used wasn't as disconcerting as he'd imagined.

Bethany clapped. "Well done both of you, and Merrill and James made a good effort to get over the wall. As you can see, it takes a combination of teamwork and utilizing your talents to overcome these challenges. Something to keep in mind as we continue."

…

Evelyn was sitting some distance from camp instead of sleeping in the cabin that she shared with Elissa, Merrill, and Bethany. She knew that by agreeing to participate in this experiment of Bethany Hawke's she risked exposing herself to judgement from hypocritical templars, but she hadn't anticipated Mark being this hostile. His rudeness brought back the bad memories of no matter what she did in the Circle, she was guilty in the eyes of the templars. However, this was tempered by the gratitude for the kindness show to her by Commander Cullen Rutherford. In spite of his suffering at the hands of blood mages in Kinloch Hold, he still trusted her.

"Are you, all right?" Commander Rutherford gently inquired.

Evelyn started briefly. She hadn't noticed his approach. "I'm ok," she said. "I've faced worse at the hands of templars."

"I'm sorry," he replied. "In the past, I've looked the other way while other templars committed atrocities. If I'd spoken up, perhaps the events at Kirkwall wouldn't have spiraled out of control."

"Or Meredith would have sent you somewhere else and put someone worse in your place," Evelyn pointed out.

"I supposed you might be right about that," he admitted.

Evelyn laughed then, because it was rare for a templar to admit that he was in the wrong. Cullen smiled, and she felt something sparkle between them. After several seconds of silence, Cullen finally broached a query. "I was just wondering, and you don't have to answer if this makes you uncomfortable, but why did you decide to start practicing blood magic?"

His question surprised Evelyn, because all most templars cared about was that utilized blood magic. Never had they asked her why. "Well, a fair amount of the templars at my old Circle saw us all as evil blood mages already, so I figured why not be the evil serpent if that's what they expect. Plus, I wanted an extra trick up my sleeve in case one of them got ideas about me."

"I see," Cullen replied, although he still looked confused.

"One of the few who saw good in me was our Knight-Captain Amelia," Evelyn explained, feeling he deserved to know her full story. "She was more of a mother to me then my biological mother. She was killed at the Conclave and when Elissa approached me about participating in this team-building group I decided the best course of action would be to try to be the good person she thought I was."

Cullen gently gripped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "If she could see you know, I'm sure she would be proud of you."

"Thank you, Commander," she said. "And I hope I will. Since we've become friends of a sort I was wondering if you would mind referring to me as Evie. That's what my friends called me."

"As long as you don't mind calling me Cullen," he uttered.

"Not at all Cullen," Evelyn replied, liking the sound of his name in her mouth. For the first time, since she'd been taken from her family by the templars, Evelyn felt at home and safe.

…

Mark kicked several stones as he sat by himself for lunch, wincing from the pain. He still didn't entirely see the point of hanging around with blood mages, and how this was going to help him stay off of lyrium. The Commander didn't like him much, and Mark only worked with Evelyn, because the other option was to give up and re-chain himself to lyrium. The others seemed happier to mingle, with a couple of Inquisition soldiers debating battle tactics with Bethany Hawke, while the Commander was chatting with Evelyn Trevelyan and Merrill about different mage specializations.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?" James asked.

Mark shook his head, hoping that the other man didn't notice his blush. Perhaps, part of the reason he hadn't left was because of this devastatingly handsome and compassionate man. However, he knew that the chances of James returning his feelings were miniscule.

"How do you work with them, knowing what they're capable of?" he asked.

James shrugged. "Bethany Hawke has a point that we've all made mistakes in the past. Plus, Merrill reminds me of my little sister Jenny. When her magic manifested and the templars came for her, she became an abomination. At first, I believed the Chantry when they insisted that it was her fault. After some years, I realized that maybe I should have asked why she would rather become an abomination then go to a Circle. I couldn't save her, but I can help them."

Mark was surprised and a bit in awe of James' compassion. In spite of seeing great evil, the ex-templar still attempted to assist others, and saw the positives in others. Maybe he should try to less reluctant in his participation, if only to gain the other man's good opinion.

…

Bethany was surprised how well her plan had worked, as well as how fast two months went by. Mark was making an effort to work with the others, and she had a feeling that James had something to do with it. Currently, he, and Evelyn were sparring against Cullen, and Elissa. Currently both sides were evenly matched, and Bethany observed with approval that Mark was willing to give Evelyn pointers on fighting against rogues.

"Well, this is working better than I pictured it would," Merrill commented as she sidled up to her. Merrill was looking healthier, and her scars were slowly fading away. "It never occurred to me to perhaps templars and blood mages struggle against a similar addiction."

"I'm just happy that Mark isn't grumbling anymore," Bethany admitted, noting that Cullen and Evelyn seemed a bit reluctant to face each other. Perhaps it had to do with the fact the pair spent a great deal of time in each other's presence, and Merrill walked in on them holding hands.

"Do you think there's something going on between Mark and James?" Merrill inquired. "They act very like that pair of lovers in Varric's stories."

"Varric's stories are a pack of lies," Bethany countered, recalling the many inaccuracies, particularly in the Tale of the Champion. That said, she realized that would explain the positive interactions between the two men, as well as the fact that James cheered Mark on in this spar. It was kind of sweet to think that relationships were springing up as a result of her choice to form this support group.

Just then, Evelyn was able to entrap Elissa in vines, and Mark was disarmed by Cullen. Evelyn hesitated before launching an ice spell at Cullen, who easily dodged and used the hilt of his sword to knock Evelyn's staff from her hands.

Instead of panicking like she might have two months back, Evelyn smiled. "You're getting good at stopping my attacks without lyrium Cullen."

"And you're improving in your elemental attacks Evie," he said with a smile of his own.

As sweet as this moment between them was, Bethany needed to interrupt them. "Excellent work everyone," she praised. "Let's have Merrill and James spar against Cullen and Evelyn."

Evelyn beamed at the thought of fighting alongside Cullen. Bethany reflected that things were going well. Nothing would prevent her from accomplishing her goal of having ex-blood mages and ex-templars working together and overcoming their addictions.

…

Cullen woke with a start in the cabin he shared with Mark, James, an Inquisition soldier named Sean. He could hear loud noises that were clearly an attack. "Get up!" he yelled, as he quickly put on his armor and boots. Thankfully, the others awoke and caught on. Cullen raced to assist the others, and recognized the group as Venatori. In spite of Corypheus' defeat four months earlier, the group still hung on in remnants.

Cullen realized with a pang that at least one of the soldiers he brought with him lay motionless, and Elissa was on the ground clutching her ankle. Evelyn had already managed to entrap two of them in vines, and Bethany blasted one of the mages with ice. Cullen quickly raced to their aid, and managed to stab one of the mages trapped by Evie's vines. Just then, Merrill swooped down as an eagle and took care of the other. However, there were at least five more enemy mages, and the trio of mages couldn't defend against them off forever.

Suddenly, Mark launched himself at one of them, and managed to get past one of the mage's defenses with a defiant slash. James was beside him, covering him from enemy attacks. Sean, who didn't have as much experience fighting, managed to daze one of the Venatori via a thrown rock, allowing Cullen to move in and take the enemy mage down.

Just as quickly as they'd attacked, the group of Venatori retreated leaving the group to assess their wounds, and mourn over their dead. Lady Juliette Beaumont, a minor Orlesian noble had surprised everyone by signing up as a common soldier and leaving her holdings in the charge of her oldest son and her daughter-in-law. In spite of being in earlies forties, she was a crack shot with a bow and didn't fuss about rustic accommodations. Now, she would never pick berries with her two youngest children, or argue with her oldest son about the management of the family holdings. Her roommate Katherine was in shock, and surprisingly, it was Merrill who was gently soothing the young soldier. Elissa's right ankle was shattered, and even with Bethany's healing skills, the woman would probably always harbor a slight limp.

"Sir!" Sean raced back to him. "They've taken all of our food stores."

"What do we do?" James asked in desperation.

"We should go after them, and get our food back," Mark declared. "I know what it was like to feel helpless when several of my friends took red lyrium and became red templars. I won't let that happen again."

As much as Cullen agreed with Mark, they were all injured and for all they knew, there was a small army of Venatori out there.

"We could have Sean scout them, and see how many there are," Bethany suggested. "If the group's small enough we could come up with a strategy."

"And if there's too many of them?" Evelyn asked.

"Then we head back to the nearest Inquisition outpost for more food and back-up," Cullen replied, determined to avenge the fallen.

Everyone agreed to this plan, but Bethany gently pointed out that Elissa wasn't in any condition to travel.

"If we don't make it back in two days, head back to the nearest outpost," Cullen said.

Elissa nodded, and attempted to put on a brave face, in spite of the frustration that her newly healed injury prevented her from accompanying the group. They managed to catch some fish from the lake and a roast themselves as a quick breakfast. The funeral for Lady Juliette was short, because they didn't have time to waste. Cullen made a mental note to write a condolence letter to her three children provided he made it back from this mission alive. The only positive that Cullen could discern was that this group was tight-knit both from working together for the past two and half months.

…

Merrill wasn't sure how to feel. Comforting Katherine was easy. A small part of her itched to reach out for the easy supply of blood magic, but she managed to squash with thoughts how far she'd progressed with shapeshifting and how proud Bethany was of her progress. Moreover, she didn't want to disappoint Evelyn or the others. It was strangely comforting to realize how close they'd all become.

The trail left by the Venatori was easy to follow, and Sean scouted ahead to attempt to gauge the enemies' numbers. When he rejoined the group later that afternoon, he seemed happier.

"I've spotted their camp sir," he said. "Luckily for us, there's only four more Venatori besides the injured three that escaped. However, one of them looks like a Magister."

Cullen nodded. "Excellent work Sean. We need to tread cautiously in order to ensure this isn't a trap."

As they approached the camp, Cullen and Bethany debated back and forth about the strategy of taking down the Venatori. Finally, they decided that Cullen would lead Evelyn, Mark, and Katherine through the front entrance to the camp, while Bethany would lead Merrill, James, and Sean the back way. Once they received their assignments, the two groups split off.

Bethany counted backwards from ten. "Go! For the Inquisition!"

To say the group of Venatori were caught off guard by their strike was understatement. Merrill shifted into a lion and easily brought down one of the enemy mages. Cullen and his group had also attacked at the entrance. James and Bethany easily overpowered one of the other mages, while Sean knocked down another with a stone, and assisted Merrill in finishing him off.

However, that wasn't enough to combat the Magister, who slit the throat of one of his compatriots and absorbed power from that death. Cullen's group was still pre-occupied with their opponents and none of the others could get close. It would be up to Merrill, who shifted back into her regular form.

"We don't have to be enemies," the Magister said with a wily grin. "Just embrace the power you are holding back and you can be my apprentice."

"Never!" Merrill yelled, as she launched an ice spell that the Magister blocked. She yowled as she felt the Magister attempted to pull from her essence in a spell she'd used many times back when she'd travelled with Hawke. Merrill was out of options, except for one thing. Silently praying that the Creators would keep her one piece for this, Merrill twisted her hands and brought down Fade energy on to the Magister who screamed before falling to the ground. Merrill dropped to her knees, her mana spent. Bethany raced to her and kissed on the lips. Surprisingly, everyone else cheered when they did this, and Merrill felt a surge of joy for throwing away her blood magic use and making so many new friends.

…

"Aren't you glad I convinced you that Bethany's idea had merit?" Thom Rainier inquired, as Malika read over the report submitted by Cullen.

Malika smiled back at her boyfriend. "Yes. It turns out all it takes to get ex-templars and ex-blood mages to get along is some team-building exercises. Although, I suppose that taking on and defeating those Venatori helped."

"So, what's on the agenda after you send that condolence letter?" Thom inquired, willing to patiently sit by and support his lady love all day.

"Lucky for you, I've managed to sneak in some free time." Malika winked flirtatiously.

"That sounds like a good plan," Thom said, as the pair took off for Malika's room.


End file.
